Budget Nomad: Tikal

Showing posts with label Tikal. Show all posts

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Orange Walk With a Banana

Somehow, most of our activity was end-loaded; it occurred at the end of our vacation rather than be spread throughout. It is just the way it worked out. From Orange Walk, it is easy to book a tour to the Laminai Mayan ruins.

Lamanai means supposedly means "submerged crocodile" in the Maya language. We later learned from our guide that Lamanai spelled as such really means underlying crocodile or potential shoes with a purse or some such thing. Lamanai is the largest, but considered the most interesting archeological site in Belize as the Lamanai temple complex sits atop the western bluff of the New River Lagoon. Surrounding it is the pristine rainforest. Lamanai was occupied continuously for over 3,000 years, which is attributed to it's remote location, causing it to be occupied far longer than most other Maya sites. Lamanai remained until at least 1,650 AD.

Getting to the ruins involved yet another boat ride. I swear I have not been as involved in water sports as I have on this vacation. The launching dock was right by the restaurant we enjoyed last night. We had a full load of tourists from Denmark, Canada, Australia, Germany, and the two of us from Hungary. We stopped often to view various water birds, numerous lizards that were sunning themselves in the trees, and at least six crocodiles. For some, the highlight was the monkeys. Our guide/captain gave some bananas, which the monkeys came to grab and ran off. Our journey took approximately 1 1/2 hours.

After combining our group with a group of college students, our guide started the tour showing us the map of area. What was once a city covered hundreds of acres of land with just as many edifices. He announced we would be doing a 14 mile hike to see the ruins. College students are very adept at mentally computing that 14 miles are impossible to cover in the allotted time of the tour. Bless their little mathematical brains.

The ruins which were excavated were magnificent; they were so intact. I am in awe with these ruins beyond what I saw in Tikal, but why is a mystery to me. Tikal was not to be missed either. Even not being an outdoorsy person, the hike was incredibly thrilling. A forest creates the freshest air. After hours of walking, viewing, going ooh and aah, snapping photos, we were provided with lunch. Tupperware containers are unloaded, unsealed, and a rainbow of edible color is exposed. What a treat it was to dine in these surroundings on what was closer to home cooked food than restaurant prepared. Life is great!

On the return trip, two of the British women asked the captain if we would get close to the monkeys again. He offered to try, but succeeded beyond anyone's expectations. When we were close to the jungle area where monkeys were visible, the captain gave bananas to the women while making monkey sounds. One monkey was particularly intrigued working his way from tree branch to tree branch edging closer to the boat. He had to traverse over the lagoon in order to get close enough to the boat to reach the fruit. In one major leap, we had a monkey on the boat running up and down the central aisle grabbing at bananas, but that was not the end of the story. Our furry friend ran to the captain, grabbed onto the wheel trying to steer. For further entertainment, it/he/she ran back to the people with the bananas and sat on their lap, before running along the aisle once again on two legs and flying off onto the nearest tree.

Once we returned to town, I wanted to explore the town before dark. After six blocks of roaming, you have run out of town. We did find decent coffee shop. A steeple caught our attention, so we ventured over to the Catholic Church where the doors were wide open, but only two nuns and two lay people were sitting in pews in the front of the church. We sat in the back observing the building. Once the little group broke up, the lay woman came to introduce herself to us. Her name was Arcadia, who explained they had just finished a rosary to the founding saint of their order, which originated in Germany. Arcadia was bubblingly extroverted, a typical personality trait of Belize people. She called over the two nuns, introduced them and then insisted that she walk with us part of the way as it was getting dark out. She claimed that as a retired school teacher she knew the majority of the residents, so felt safe. However, there were some problems at times for strangers. She explained that there is a mandatory retirement at 55 years old in Belize. Is it a wonder there are so many retirees from other countries flocking here?

During our walk-about, we didn't notice too many choices for dinner, so we returned to where we ate last night. Two more incredible meals, making it a grand finale for our last night of vacation.

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Sunday, January 08, 2012

A Fast Internet Connection, PLEASE!!!

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Another private shuttle ride transported us from Tikal Guatemala to San Ignacio, Belize. It wasn’t a difficult ride, only 2 ½ hours, which we planned for our hotel check-out time of 11 am. It would have been a bit faster if it had not been for border control. We went through Guatemala Passport Control just by giving our passports to our driver who was able to get them stamped without us being present. Belize was different. We filled out a form, went face to face with the Passport people who stamped our US books without even looking at us. There was another form to fill out, but that was painless. Next was Customs where there is only a “Goods to Declare” line, but no “Nothing to Declare” option. After being asked if I wanted to declare anything, I was waved through.

Arriving in San Ignacio, Belize had me questioning Ron’s decision. Why here? Well we were booked at the White House, or Casa Blanca, so that should have been the answer to my question, but I still had lingering doubts. Oh, I get it. It sounded so good in the tour guide. But we are here for 5 nights, overkill for sure.

After signing in, we were shown to our room. It is one floor off of the ground level. There is a large living room area immediately apparent. To the right is a waist high dividing wall with built in cases with glass windows. There is a vast collection of porcelain figures that look like someone’s private collection, but the focus is a combination of women in 18th century dress, old valentine statuettes, and elephants next to Madonna (not the singer). Beyond the wall is another living room set, dining room table with 8 chairs, and a full kitchen. Our room is at the end of hall, far away from any traffic that may disturb our sleep.

The first thing I did after getting settled was trying the Tigo Internet stick bought in Rio Dulce. No signal! When I went to ask reception, they said that it ‘should’ work, but if it doesn’t they do have WiFi and she gave me the sign on info. Later, I found a note on the refrigerator that shows other services all listed in US dollars: WiFi $2.50 a day, Laundry $10.00 a load and A/C $25.00 a day. The WiFi is so slow, I am actually wishing for a 56k modem. It would be faster. Who ever heard of a download speed of 13.4kb/s in this day and age?

We walked to the new bridge, the old bridge, the river and all over downtown. That took a whole 2 hours, including going into stores. Okay, it is Sunday so not everything is open. Still, the thought of 5 days here is worrisome.

Across the street, almost directly across from Casa Blanca, is a restaurant called “Let’s Go Eat” which is the translated name. The real name is in Mayan. The crowd was so great that we had to wait for a table; well worth the wait. As we were ordering, the couple who was on our tour at Tikal, the meditater and the Mayan illustrator asked if they could join us. We agreed and it turned out to be a very pleasant experience. He teaches in a junior college in CA on the Mexican border. She is a psychologist. Conversation was delightful causing me to tell Ron, I retract my nasty thoughts from the morning of the tour.

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Saturday, January 07, 2012

Mayan Ruins

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It seemed like such a good idea until the alarm went off at 3:30 am. A time, I am generally awake, I was sound asleep this morning. We are scheduled for a 4:15 am sunrise tour of the Mayan Tikal ruins. We will be perched on top of a Mayan Temple as the sun does its own push up over the horizon in the east. Before any of that happens, we have to find our clothes that Ron had the foresight to suggest we put out last night. It is pitch black in our room and outside.

By 4:05, we are at the lobby of the hotel, waiting. The lobby is locked, so we stand outside until 4: 20 when the reception greets us with a flashlight. Our guide arrived shortly after. There are only four of us going this tour. We start out in the blackness of morning, when the only woman in our little group says to us, “I do a lot of meditation and I am hoping we can keep quiet most of the time, so I can meditate in peace.” My first reaction was to tell her to skip the tour and go meditate elsewhere, but I refrained by saying we paid for this tour and intend to get all we can from it. It turned out that her husband was the illustrator for a book on Mayan ruins. I immediately forgot his name.

Walking through the forest in the dark was an adventure. Ron had a small flashlight, but that was all there was for the five of us. Our guide Rony has excellent night vision and could lead without light, but the rest of us needed to see the numerous rocks, holes, puddles, and labyrinth of tree roots that covered massive areas of the paths. It was an extreme sport in darkness. He explained what to do in case we ran into a jaguar. Stay close, create a united front, don’t look it in the eyes. Comforting! In his four years as a guide, he has not come face to face with one yet. Rony received the name, because his grandfather was enamored with Ronald Reagan and wanted his grandson to carry on the tradition. His mother had enough sense to compromise and called him Rony with one n.

When we closed in on the temple where we would view the sun rise, I about jumped ship when Rony said there were 191 steps. When we arrived at the base, I knew I would do this, even if it took me longer than the others. It was surprising to see about two dozen others already at the top. It never occurred to me that you could enter the park on your own or that you would want to at that hour without getting lost.

The other couple left us once we reached the temple. Who would have imagined we would be sitting on ancient Mayan temple steps, waiting for the sun to rise? The jungle started to come to life as the sun appeared over the horizon. The Howler monkeys started their screams, the birds were fluttering too fast to catch on camera, but there was life where thirty minutes earlier, any life forms would have been debatable. The scene was breathtaking and awe inspiring. Our guide estimated there were 7 tribes of Howler monkeys based on the sounds in different parts of the jungle. They howl to warn other males that their territory is spoken for. Howler is a misnomer, because what you hear is a roar not unlike a lion or tiger. One would swear there were swarms of jaguars roaming around.

Rony continued to tour us around the grounds. The tour was supposed to end about 8:30, but he was still talking and leading us at 9:00, 9:30, 10:00 and finally got us back to the hotel by 10:30. We appreciated the extra time, but sensory overload had kicked in about an hour earlier. He was just so pleasant to be around, we could not cut it short and his knowledge was encyclopedic.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the gift center and bought a bag of Yucca cactus chips. When we returned to the room, Ron headed to the swimming pool and I was going to hang out and read. I had only had about fifteen minutes rest when I was joined by two very curious and hungry coatis. As cute as they are, they were infringing on my rest and relaxation, not to mention my snack. They started to climb into my lap, so this prompted me to share. I tossed a chip and they fetched, returning for more. My standing and walking didn’t have much effect as long as I had the bag in my hand. Eventually, we had to compromise. I dumped my bag on the grass and they left me alone.

Later in the afternoon, we were napping, recouping the missed sleep from 3:45 am until 8 am, but we were awakened by the most horrendous roaring. Just yards from our bungalow where the jungle starts again, there were Howler monkeys whooping it up. We were able to get some photos of their antics.

Without WiFi, without electricity, no Internet, no e-mail, no reading in bed, the evening was long and fairly uneventful. I did have some movies on the computer, so we watched one with the battery was charged on the computer. I plugged the computer in so that it would start to recharge before we woke up in the morning. The games that have to be played.

Tomorrow, we leave here for San Ignacio, Belize. Again, we had to hire a private driver. There is no public transport from here to there.

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Friday, January 06, 2012

Mayans Didn't Have Electricity Either

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In order to leave the Rio Dulce, we have to hire a private driver to get to Tikal. Public transport is not existent without major routes, changes of buses, and hoping for connections. Manuel, who we presume is the manager, was able to make the arrangements for us. It will cost us a hefty 140,000 quetzals or 140 Euros, but the drive is 4 hours one way and the driver will return after dropping us off, most likely by himself.

After taking the 9 am boat shuttle from the hotel to town, our driver was waiting for us. He did not speak English and Ron opted for the front seat, so he had some practice refreshing his Spanish. With my nose in a book, I looked up every few pages to assure myself there was nothing spectacular happening with the scenery as we drove. That was until the fourth look out the window; we came across a small herd of about 7 – 9 Brahma cows strolling down the highway completely unattended by any humans. They looked like they were running away from home or the slaughter house, but it were the later, they were too emaciated to make more than a few hamburgers at most.

We arrived in Tikal, a national park and protected UNESCO World Heritage site. For two nights our residence is the Hotel Tikal Inn, one of three hotels within the park situated in the jungle that surrounds the Mayan ruins located in this part of the country. Again, we have a lovely little bungalow, but there is one problem: electricity. None of the lights or electric outlets in our room functioned. When we brought this to the attention of the front desk, we were informed that there is only electricity from 6-9 pm and 6-9 am. Aside from those times, the entire park is dark or as light as nature allows, but not electrified.

Okay, this creates a problem because my little netbook is old, but still reliable, yet it only holds a charge for 2 hours before needing an AC/DC fix. One or the other, but I have no idea which it is. I figured I would whip out my Tigo Internet stick and spend two hours on the Internet, then recharge the battery when electric juice is turned on. Well that turned into problem number 2. They do not get a Tigo signal here in the park, so the USB stick doesn’t work.

The bright side alternative was being advised that there was free WiFi in the lobby; the password is prominently taped to the counter. For everything there is a catch. Although I am happy that I can download my e-mails, there is a but or two following. The first BUT is that the WiFi only works when the electricity is turned on, which brings us back to those limited hours of availability. But 2 is that the WiFi only works in the lobby of the hotel, not on the grounds and certainly not in the rooms. Bummer! What a conundrum!

Adding to this mix, dinner is only served during these hours also, creating a number of agenda items to be covered in a short period of time. Add battery juice to the computer in the room. Run into the lobby to download e-mail and do whatever Internet things need doing, eat dinner, and then run back to the room to charge the battery one the computer on last time before 9 pm. It is going to be interesting.

Dinner is tasty, but only moderately hot. We wonder if they use electric for the cooking and not gas. There is a summer camp feeling having lights out at 9 pm. No one gets to do any reading in bed unless you brought your own book light or flashlight. But hey, we are going on a 4 am tour to see the Mayan ruins at sunrise, so we need to get to bed early anyway.